The
Art Students League of New YorkArt Students League of New York is an art school located on West
57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has
historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and
professional artists and for over 130 years has maintained a tradition
of offering reasonably priced classes on a flexible schedule to
accommodate students from all walks of life.
Although artists may study full-time, there have never been any degree
programs or grades, and this informal attitude pervades the culture of
the school. From the 19th century to the present, the League has
counted among its attendees and instructors many historically
important artists, and contributed to numerous influential schools and
movements in the art world.
The League also maintains a significant permanent collection of
student and faculty work, and publishes an online journal of writing
on art-related topics, entitled LINEA. The journal's name refers to
the school's motto Nulla Dies Sine Linea or "No Day Without a Line,"
traditionally attributed to the famous Greek painter
ApellesApelles by the
historian Pliny the Elder, who recorded that
ApellesApelles would not let a
day pass without at least drawing a line to practice his art.[1]

History[edit]
Founded in 1875, the League's creation came about in response to both
an anticipated gap in the program of the National Academy of Design's
program of classes for that year, and longer-term desires for more
variety and flexibility in education for artists. The breakaway group
of students included many women, and was originally housed in rented
rooms at 16th Street and Fifth Avenue.[2]
When the Academy resumed a more typical, but liberalized, program, in
1877, there was some sentiment that the League had served its purpose,
but its students voted to continue its program, and it was
incorporated in 1878. Influential board members from this formative
period included painter
Thomas EakinsThomas Eakins and sculptor Augustus
Saint-Gaudens. Membership continued to increase, forcing the League to
relocate to increasingly larger spaces.
In 1889, the League participated in the founding of the American Fine
Arts Society (AFAS), together with the
Society of American Artists and
the Architectural League, among others. The American Fine Arts
Building at 215 West 57th Street, constructed as their joint
headquarters, has continued to house the League since 1892.[3]
Designed in the French Renaissance style by one of the founders of the
AFAS, architect
Henry HardenberghHenry Hardenbergh (in collaboration with W.C. Hunting
& J.C. Jacobsen), the building is a designated New York City
Landmark[4][5] and is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places.
In the late 1890s and early 1900s an increasing number of women
artists came to study and work at the league many of them taking on
key roles. Among them was a young Miss
Wilhelmina Weber FurlongWilhelmina Weber Furlong and
eventually her husband Thomas Furlong (artist). The avant-garde couple
served the league in executive and administrative roles and as student
members throughout the American modernism movement.[6] Alice Van
Vechten Brown, who would later develop some of the first art programs
in American higher education, also studied with the league until
prolonged family illness sent her home.[7]
Artist
Edith DimockEdith Dimock described her classes at the Art Students League:

In a room innocent of ventilation, the job was to draw Venus (just the
head) and her colleagues. We were not allowed to hitch bodies to the
heads——yet. The dead white plaster of Paris was a perfect inducer
of eye-strain, and was called "The Antique." One was supposed to work
from "The Antique" for two years. The advantage of "The Antique" was
that all these gods and athletes were such excellent models: there
never was the twitch of an iron-bound muscle. Venus never batted her
hard-boiled egg eye, and the Discus-thrower never wearied. They were
also cheap models and did not have to be paid union rates.
— Edith Dimock[8]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Art Students League of New
York.

Art Students League of New York
"Brief History of The League's Early Years"
Linea
PBS American Masters documentation including some notable alumni
Information on the ASL at the Traditional Fine Arts Organization web
site, retrieved December 14, 2007
"Linea, Journal of the Art Students League of New York" available for
download in PDF form; four issues per year (free)
"On the Front Lines: Military Veterans at The Art Students League of
New York"
Art Students League records, 1875-1955 from the Smithsonian Archives
of American Art